Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the London Assembly Lib Dems, joined senior Lib Dems including Lynne Featherstone MP, Sarah Ludford MEP, and party president Ros Scott, at the Pride London 2010 event on Saturday 3rd July - the UK's largest annual LGBT event.
On Thursday 28th January Caroline went on a visit to look at the new East London Line Extension works and to view the extension of the Docklands Light Railway.
Caroline visited New Cross Gate Depot and saw the new trains for the line, as well as looking at the new station and works at Shoreditch.
The DLR visit included a trip out to Stratford and down to Woolwich via City Airport.
“The extension of the DLR and the works on the new East London Line were very impressive and it is great to see so much investment going into public transport. I can’t wait for the East London Line to reopen” said Lib Dem Caroline Pidgeon.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, the Liberal Democrat Chair of the Transport Committee at City Hall, was one of the speakers at the West London Line Group’s recent event at West Brompton.
Caroline joined members of the rail user group including its Chair Mark Balaam for a tour of the station and a discussion about many of the ongoing issues the group are campaigning for.
“It was great to hear the history of this important railway line. It is very important that as part of the Sussex Rail Utilisation Strategy, this line is seen as a good way to help passengers to travel across the capital without having to go into the centre of London. It has huge potential and I hope the Government and Mayor of London consider many of the good ideas the West London Line Group are proposing” commented Caroline Pidgeon.
You can read more about the group at http://www.westlondonlinegroup.org.uk/index.htm.
Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Vice-Chair of the Transport Committee and Croydon Central Liberal Democrat Campaigner Stephen Dering launched a damning report today into overcrowding on the Croydon Tram network.
73% of respondents to the Liberal Democrat survey highlighted that overcrowding was unacceptable or so bad that they could not board the tram.
The Lib Dem survey included over 1,000 tram users at 12 tram stops across Croydon Central in the early mornings between 9th and 13th February.
Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, made an early morning visit to Addiscombe’s tram stop to take part in an extensive survey of tram users that local Croydon Liberal Democrats are now conducting.
Caroline was invited by Stephen Dering, the Liberal Democrat Croydon Central parliamentary candidate, to the launch of the survey, which started early this week. The survey is seeking to find out people’s views on a wide range of issues relating to the whole tram network.
Caroline, who is vice chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, said:
"This is an important survey. The views of tram users really matter. This survey is a key way of ensuring that concerns of tram users are heard by Transport for London and that improvements are made."
Caroline Pidgeon AM, the Liberal Democrat deputy chair of the London Assembly’s transport committee, has made a fact finding visit to the now well-established Croydon Tramlink along with a delegation from the transport committee.
Caroline says: "We can learn a lot from the Croydon tram experience and this will ensure the Cross River Tram is even more successful."
Commenting on the plans for the new tram to link London across the river she says:
Liberal Democrat Assembly Member and vice-chair of the Assembly’s Transport Committee Caroline Pidgeon today accused London Mayor Boris Johnson of not doing enough to secure the future of vital transport upgrades in south London.
At the Mayor’s Question Time session in City Hall this morning, Caroline Pidgeon asked what guarantees the Mayor had got from the Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly MP, who he met last week, about the funding for the Cross River Tram project and the East London Line extension as well as other transport projects in London
LibDem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon has written to Mayor Boris Johnson demanding that he consults on an effective plan to reorganise the traffic layout at Purley Cross. In her letter Ms Pidgeon accuses Mayor Johnson of going back on an election promise to act on traffic chaos in the area:
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Leader and transport spokesperson, commenting on the Mayor’s plans to introduce a one-off £10 fee for Zip Card concessionary travel for children, teenagers and students, said:
”I understand that TfL have to look at cost savings but any change needs to be fair. Given that two fifths of children across London live in poverty TfL should exempt this charge to children and young people who are entitled to free school meals."
The MayorWatch website covers the story here.
The Mayor has declared his intention to make 2011 the ‘year of walking’ and allocated millions of pounds to the cause, but will his proposals see more Londoners making their journeys on foot?
Caroline Pidgeon AM will lead an investigation on behalf of the Assembly’s Transport Committee to assess the effectiveness of current plans to get people walking and look at what more could be done.
Almost a quarter of all journeys in the capital are made on foot – nearly 6 million trips every day – making up nearly a third of the total time Londoners spend travelling. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy states that he wants to see the share of all journeys made on foot increase to 25 per cent by 2031 – an extra million journeys a day.
To help meet this target, the Mayor and Transport for London have allocated over £200 million over the next three years to ‘Better Streets’ - which includes schemes ranging from de-cluttering streets to pedestrianisation - and ‘Better Green and Water Spaces’ to improve access to London’s parks, rivers and canals.
Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The Mayor wants 2011 to be the ‘year of walking’ but to encourage more Londoners to make their journeys on foot he will have to carefully tailor his proposals and investment.
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